For years, fraud seemed like an inevitable part of every digital campaign.
With billions flowing through programmatic channels worldwide, the incentive for fraudsters to ply their craft was just too great.
Finally, the industry had enough. In 2014, the Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG) was established to cultivate confidence and trust in digital advertising by facilitating collaboration among players across the supply chain to uphold quality and brand safety standards.
On June 21, TAG released its fifth consecutive fraud benchmark report for Europe, and for a fifth year in a row, IVT rates in TAG Certified Channels were below 1%.
Some Channels More Problematic Than Others
At least in Europe, some channels are more problematic than others. For instance, desktop display and video have IVT rates of 1.54% and 1.30% respectively. CTV isn’t far behind with 1.28%.
CTV Improved Steadily throughout 2022
Throughout 2022, CTV IVT rates exhibited a downward trend in each quarter, but it is important to note that this pattern may not necessarily reflect future trends as it could be influenced by other factors within the CTV marketplace.
Mobile in-app video and display formats consistently maintained lower IVT rates throughout the quarters, exhibiting stability over time.
The Caveat
It’s not as if all campaigns in the European markets studied show low rates of IVT. The report takes pains to point out that less than 1% fraud is only attainable in campaigns that run through fully TAG Certified Channels. These are channels in which every entity — publisher, ad tech platform, agency — have achieved TAG Certification Against Fraud.